⚡ CFB Dashboard

- West Virginia built a 24-0 halftime lead over Coastal Carolina behind 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Jacksonville State transfer Cam Cook and 103 rushing yards from Oklahoma transfer quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. - West Virginia finished with 281 rushing yards on 61 carries, and Hawkins also completed 11 of 14 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. - West Virginia's second-half offense struggled with two third-quarter three-and-outs, penalties, a sack that stalled a fourth-quarter drive, and a Cam Cook fumble. - West Virginia defensive end Darius Wiley suffered a significant leg injury during a fourth-quarter fumble recovery scrum and had to be carted off.

- Openers are bound to be guessing games nowadays. - Nobody has to tell that to West Virginia or anyone trying to follow them this offseason. - The Mountaineers turned over their roster and will turn it loose on Saturday against Coastal Carolina. - The Chanticleers have their share of new players as well as a new head coach, and Ryan Beard isn't in a rush to tell WVU any of his...

- Two staff travel-roster projections agree that West Virginia would take quarterbacks Max Brown, Scotty Fox, Michael Hawkins and Jyron Hughley when the Big 12's 74-player road limit first applies at Iowa State on October 3. - Both projections carry the same five running backs and nine receivers, indicating broad agreement on the likely road skill-position group. - The projections identify tight end, reserve offensive line and kicker as unsettled travel spots, with Kade Bush versus Carter Ziuliani, Aidan Woods and Peter Notaro among the disputed selections. - Defensive fringe decisions remain open around linemen Brandon Caesar and Noah Tishendorf, bandit Jeremiah Johnson and cornerback Vincent Smith.

- West Virginia's downhill, run-first offense is targeting fewer than 4.5 tackles for loss allowed per game after surrendering 5.83 in 2025, because Rich Rodriguez views negative-play avoidance as central to sustaining drives. - West Virginia is aiming for a 44 percent third-down conversion rate after finishing 134th nationally at 29.8 percent, a key threshold because Rodriguez's 2024 Jacksonville State team converted 52 percent in wins and 21 percent in losses. - The Mountaineers want at least 5.5 offensive plays of 20-plus yards and no more than four allowed per game after producing 3.5 and conceding roughly 5.5 in those categories last season. - West Virginia's defense is targeting seven tackles for loss per game after averaging 6.7 and ranking 15th nationally in 2025, with Durham-Campbell and Holloman expected to improve its disruption. - Transfer kickoff specialist Jack Cassidy posted a 71 percent touchback rate at Western Kentucky, giving West Virginia a path to fix a long-running coverage problem, while punter Bryan Hansen returns from a 44.1-yard net average.

- True freshman Matt Sieg is already listed in an OR competition with Andrew Powdrell at boundary safety and is also a candidate at both punt returner and kickoff returner. - International additions Emerson Joy on the defensive line, Jack Cassidy at kicker and Tobi Haastrup at bandit all made West Virginia's initial depth chart, as did Division II defensive-line transfer Will LeBlanc. - Only Taylor Brown reached the defensive-tackle three-deep from West Virginia's 2025 freshman defensive-line class, leaving Brown, Brandon Caesar and Wilnerson Telemaque in a developmental season after redshirting. - Seven of West Virginia's 11 December junior-college additions made the expanded depth chart, but only Darius Wiley, KJ Henson and Da'Mare Williams hold true second-team positions, while 11 freshmen also appear in the two-deep. - Chams Diagne and Nick Taylor are the projected starting corners, with Keyshawn Robinson and undersized surprise Jaire Rawlinson listed behind them.